Name day
Gad: Name Day
Gad keeps the name day on the Sunday between 11 and 17 December, the feast of the Holy Forefathers: next on 13 December 2026.
- Feast
- the Holy Forefathers
- New Calendar
- the Sunday between 11 and 17 December
- Next name day
- 13 December 2026 (New Calendar) · 27 December 2026 (Old Calendar)
The feast: the Holy Forefathers
Kept on the Sunday between 11 and 17 December · Sunday of the Holy Forefathers
On the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers the Church remembers the righteous men and women of the Old Testament, the ancestors of Christ according to the flesh and all who waited in faith for His coming, from Adam onward. Among them are Adam and Eve, Abel, Seth, Enoch and Noah, and the patriarch Abraham, whom St Paul calls the father of the faithful. Many of them lived among idols and cruelty, yet they kept faith in the one God and hoped for the Messiah they would not see in this life. The Church likens them to candles of God burning in the darkness. The feast falls on the Sunday between 11 and 17 December (on the Old Calendar, the Sunday between 24 and 30 December), the second Sunday before Christmas, in the middle of the Nativity Fast. Its Gospel is the parable of the great supper, in which the poor, the lame and the blind are brought in to the feast after the first guests make excuses. The hymns of the day recall the three youths who would not bow to an idol and were kept unharmed in the fiery furnace, a sign of Christ born of the Virgin. The troparion says that God justified the forefathers by faith, and it asks Christ to save our souls through their prayers. Those who bear the names of the patriarchs and their wives keep this Sunday as their name day, and the faithful ask the forefathers to pray for them as they prepare their hearts to receive Christ.
What the faithful pray for
- faith that holds firm while we wait on God
- hope in God’s promises
- a heart made ready for the Nativity of Christ
- courage to refuse every idol
- families, parents and those who come after us
Other saints named Gad
the Holy Fathers of Christ
Kept on the Sunday between 18 and 24 December · Sunday of the Holy Fathers, before the Nativity
On the Sunday before the Nativity the Church remembers the Holy Fathers, the ancestors of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh, named in His genealogy from Adam to St Joseph the Betrothed, together with all the righteous and the prophets who foretold His coming. The Church’s list runs from Adam and Eve through Abel, Seth, Enoch and Noah, to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and his twelve sons, through Judah and the line of Boaz and Obed to Jesse, the father of King David, and through the kings of Judah and the years of exile to Joseph. With them are remembered Moses and Aaron, the prophets Samuel, Nathan and Daniel, the Three Youths, and holy women such as Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Ruth, Hannah and Esther. Saints and sinners alike stand in this family, for the Son of God took flesh from a real human family, of the house and lineage of David, as the Church’s own account of this Sunday stresses. The feast is kept on the Sunday between 18 and 24 December (on the Old Calendar, the Sunday between 31 December and 6 January), the last Sunday before Christmas. It is the name day of those called Jesse. The faithful ask the prayers of the Holy Fathers for their own families and descendants, and for a faith that waits on God’s promises as theirs did.
What the faithful pray for
- our families, our parents and our children
- faith that waits patiently on God’s promises
- a good preparation for the Nativity of Christ
- our ancestors and the generations to come
An icon for Gad
We don't carry an icon of the Holy Forefathers yet. Ask for it below, and we will write to you when it is in.
Closest to it
For every name: the Guardian Angel, given at baptism
Have it consecrated by our priest before it reaches you: Consecration, $49.
A name-day gift for Gad
Name-Day Gift Set $213$149
A patron saint's folding diptych chosen by first name, a stainless steel crucifix and a prayer rope, in a gift box with a card giving the saint's life and feast day.
The St Nicholas the Wonderworker & Guardian Angel Folding Diptych is chosen, for the Guardian Angel every Orthodox Christian receives at baptism, and the name is filled in.
Other names with this saint
Questions
When is Gad’s name day?
Gad keeps the name day on the Sunday between 11 and 17 December, the feast of the Holy Forefathers; the next is on 13 December 2026.
Which feast is Gad’s name day?
the Holy Forefathers. On the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers the Church remembers the righteous men and women of the Old Testament, the ancestors of Christ according to the flesh and all who waited in faith for His coming, from Adam onward.
What is a good name-day gift for Gad?
We don’t carry an icon of the Holy Forefathers yet, and you can ask for one on this page. Every Orthodox Christian has a Guardian Angel from baptism, so the Name-Day Gift Set ($149) with the Guardian Angel diptych is always fitting.
More about name days
- Name Days Explained: What They Are, How Families Keep Them, and Gifts
A name day is the feast of the saint whose name you carry. Here is how to find yours on either calendar, how Greek and Russian families keep it, and what to give.
- Orthodox Patron Saint: How to Find Yours (by Name, Day or Choice)
Your Orthodox patron saint is the saint whose name you were given at baptism. Here is how to find yours by name, by the day of your birth or baptism, or by choice, and how to keep the name day.
- Find another name
Sources
- OCA: Accepting the Lord's Invitation (Sunday of the Forefathers)
- OCA: Troparia and kontakia, Sunday of the Forefathers
- OrthoChristian: Who Are the Holy Forefathers, and Why Do We Commemorate Them Before the Nativity of Christ?
- Patriarchate of Antioch: The Sunday of the Holy Forefathers
- OCA: Sunday before the Nativity
- Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church: Sunday before the Nativity of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ
- eortologio.net, Greek name-day calendar (Εορτολόγιο)
- azbyka.ru, Месяцеслов (the Russian Church's calendar of saints by name)